For 'free and fair' polls, allow ballot paper in Gujarat elections: AAP to EC

Ahmedabad: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday urged the Election Commission (EC) that for "free and fair" conduct of the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections, ballot papers should be used instead of EVMs.

AAP's Gujarat in-charge Gopal Rai led a delegation ofparty workers and submitted a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer B B Swain in Gandhinagar near here today.

"Ballot papers should be used in the upcoming state assembly election to keep it free and fair," the memorandum said.

"EVMs are not foolproof and their use undermines the democratic process of voting. AAP wants to convey to you (EC) that not just political parties, but even common people are raising apprehensions regarding the authenticity of polls using EVMs," the memorandum said.

"Considering these facts in mind, AAP's Gujarat unit demands that 2017 assembly elections are held using ballot papers so that no questions are raised on the democratic process. We hope that to save democracy and protect the interest of common citizens, you will use ballot papers," it said.

The party also said that in case the use of ballot paper was not possible, the EC should ensure that each polling booth has Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with VVPAT—Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail.

"In case ballot paper is not used, at least ensure that each polling booth has Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with VVPAT for transparency," it said.

The party also cited a Supreme Court direction to the EC to use VVPAT along with EVMs "while observing that EVMs are not 100 per cent authentic, and there are chances of it getting hacked".